D=Backs to the Wall

For Arizona Diamondbacks fans, it’s officially crunch time.

Those rip-roaring glory days of April? We dimly remember it was cool then. The barking-dog days of July? Gone with the monsoon wind. All that remains of this hair-ripping, testicle-tightening race for the NL West title are today’s game against the San Francisco Giants and the 10 that follow against the St. Louis Cardinals and Colorado Rockies.

Will they be enough to keep up with the Dodgers and, perhaps, the Rockies? Last year, Colorado went on a 22-1 tear to end the season, parlaying the late run into a World Series berth. The six remaining games against the Rockies – a trifecta beginning tomorrow in Denver, three next weekend here – may well tell all.

Oh, yeah. The Giants. Tonight. Almost forgot.

Mon., April 21, 6:40 p.m.; Tue., April 22, 6:40 p.m.; Tue., May 27, 6:40 p.m.; Wed., May 28, 6:40 p.m.; Thu., May 29, 6:40 p.m.; Mon., Sept. 15, 6:40 p.m.; Tue., Sept. 16, 6:40 p.m.; Wed., Sept. 17, 6:40 p.m.; Thu., Sept. 18, 6:40 p.m., 2008